SPS Museum seems an abandoned structure
Abrar A. Mattoo –
SRINAGAR, Sep 22: Housed in the SPS museum at Lal Mandi, Srinagar, Kashmir’s historical treasure dating almost 5’000 years back, has received only a handful of visitors in the last three years due to the subsequent lockdowns in the valley.
Like every other public place in Kashmir, the Shri Pratap Singh museum had also succumbed to the desolation post august 5, but while the parks, mosques, and all the other places have returned to the somewhat faint glory of the bygone days, the gloom still hovers over the SPS museum. Even on a bright day like Sunday, only an occasional visitor can be seen purchasing a ticket at the counter every two-to-three hours.
“Due to the subsequent lockdowns, the museum has seen a very low number of visitors in the past three years. Only the scholars, officials, and enthusiasts of history have been our regular visitors during this time, and it remains the same as of now,” a senior-most official at the museum said while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
Established in 1898 by the Dogra Maharaja, Pratap Singh, the museum houses some 80’000 rare and incredible artefacts that provide an insight into the multilayered history and cultural heritage of the Kashmir valley. The displays at the Museum narrate the story of a man in Kashmir from around 2 million years down to 5’000 BP when he settled down and built villages to introduce farming for sustenance and invented arts and crafts. It continues all the way to the 20th century where due to the participation of the local military regiments in the world-war I, the war trophies like machineguns, muskets, and artillery, dating from the period are also put on display.
Before the Maharaja was advised by Ram Singh and Captain Godfry to transform the summer resort at Lal Mandi into a museum, the treasure was put up in the Tosha-Khana at his Shergari Palace. The majority of the treasure, nearly 70’000 artefacts, comprises coins, some of which date as early as the 3rd century B.C.
Apart from the artifacts from Maharaja’s Tosha Khana, a score of excavations and transfer of art-works from places like Harwan, Kani-Shahar, and Martand, have added a significant amount of culturally rich and aesthetically serene artefacts to the collection at the SPS museum.
Furthermore, for the admirers, the museum offers a series of rare manuscripts, books, and paintings that are baffling to behold, and inspiring to look at.
Unfortunately, the visitors are a rare sight at SPS. “The museum has largely been abandoned in the past few years. Some time ago, I visited the museum and the receptionist at the counter had to scramble for almost ten minutes to look for the receipt book,” Javid Rasool, a history enthusiast and a student of Archaeology and Ancient history said while speaking with Kashmir Despatch.
He further said that in order to understand the cultural glory and the history of our prestigious past, every Kashmiri should visit the SPS museum once in his lifetime.
The museum remains open to the general public from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m on every Tuesday to Sunday. The entry is Rs. 10 for Indian citizens and Rs. 50 each for foreign nationals. Similarly, the private school-going children can enter the museum for Rs. 5, while the government school-going children have to pay only Rs. 2 to enter the museum. At SPS, an ample sitting place and all the required amenities are available for the visitors.
